When a tire is installed onto a rim and inflated it will “seat” onto the rim. The edge of a tire that sits on the wheel is called the tire bead. Wheels for cars, bicycles and motorcycles are generally made with a small slot or groove for the tire bead to sit in. Air pressure within the tire keeps the bead in this groove when the tire is properly inflated. When a tire is being replaced on a wheel, there is the problem of sealing or setting the bead, because the tire will not inflate properly if the incoming air can escape. For this reason, sometimes some sort of sealant may be used to ensure that the bead is properly sealed.
When a tire becomes damaged and must be replaced, the tire must be released from the wheel, and the bead must be “broken”. In breaking the bead, care must be taken that the wheel not be damaged. Some wheels are very expensive, and if a sharp implement is used, such as a knife or screwdriver, care must be taken that the implement does not slip and gouge the finish of the wheel. The task can be even more difficult if sealant has been used.
Sometimes there are also raised sections on the wheel rim called a “safety bead” that makes breaking the bead of the tire even more difficult. Safety beads are features on the inside of a rim that help to hold the tire in place in the event that the tire becomes flat during use. Without a safety bead, if the tire were to lose pressure during use, it may fall off the rim and cause a crash.
For these reason, breaking the bead to remove the tire can be difficult.
There are presently tools available that are designed to break the bead of the tire, however, these are generally either too large to carry with the user on a motorcycle and/or very complicated and hard to use. Usually breaking a tire bead would require the use of shop tools, air tools or hydraulics. There are some manual bead breakers on the market but they are generally all very large and are not portable.
Some users resort to the use of screw-drivers or other wedged-shaped objects which are forced between the bead and the wheel, which may be the only tools at hand while on the road. If a screw-driver slips during this process, the wheel rim, which can be very expensive, can be scarred or gouged. Additionally, the tool might pierce the tire or tube, or otherwise cause further damage to the tire or wheel.
Thus, there is a need for a bead breaker tool which provides a portable, inexpensive, tool for breaking the bead, which is safer to use, does not require the use of shop tools, and which greatly reduces the likelihood of damage to those parts which may be very expensive to replace.